Fantasy Reaction: Mike Davis Signs with Baltimore (Fantasy Football)
Veteran running back, Mike Davis, is signing with the Baltimore Ravens, according to Jordan Schultz on Twitter. Davis, 29, was recently released by the Atlanta Falcons after playing in Atlanta for just one season. A year ago, Davis logged 196 total opportunities as part of a committee backfield with Cordarrelle Patterson. With those opportunities, Davis ran for 503 yards and accounted for 259 receiving yards through the air en route to the RB37 fantasy finish in half PPR leagues. Davis’ fantasy value took a major hit down the stretch last season as he was phased out of the Falcons’ game plan late in the year.
Last season, among backs with 75 carries, Davis ranked 45th among 58 qualifying backs in yards after contact per attempt and struggled to produce explosive plays, logging just 11 carries of 10+ yards on the season, which was tied for 40th in the league. In the receiving game, Davis proved capable, catching 44 of 58 targets, but again, the efficiency metrics were among the worst in football. Davis’ 0.83 yards per route run ranked 21st out of 24 backs who saw at least 50 targets. Clearly, at this stage of his career, Davis is no more than a committee rotational back, which is exactly the role he’ll play in Baltimore alongside J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards.
Both Dobbins and Edwards are coming off pre-season ACL injuries from a year ago and were reportedly in the market for Melvin Gordon before he re-signed with Denver. With their top two backs coming off serious knee injuries, it makes sense for the Ravens to add a veteran RB for insurance to round out the depth chart with 2022 6th round rookie, Tyler Badie. From a fantasy perspective, Davis is unlikely to be viable outside of injury to Dobbins or Edwards, but he should mix in for a handful of touches per game as part of a committee backfield, especially early in the season with Dobbins and Edwards coming off injury. As for Dobbins and Edwards, both backs are reportedly on track for Week 1 in their recoveries, and Dobbins should lead the backfield for a Ravens team who ranked 1st in neutral situation rush rate in 2019 and 2020 prior to ramping up their pass volume a year ago. Assuming the Ravens return to their run heavy ways, Dobbins looks like fantasy winner with the uninspiring signing of a RB late in his career who’s numbers who he’s on the decline.